TerraViva has officially released the complete list of awarded projects of the design contest entitled “Tactical Urbanism NOW! IV”.
The goal of this competition was to experiment with site-specific case studies that could work as open laboratories to test novel approaches on urban transformation. Participants were given complete freedom to outline the program, the overall output and the extents of their proposal. Likewise, the size and complexity of the intervention was defined by each team according to the needs of that specific neighbourhood, plot, city or community.
The awarded proposals managed to successfully apply tactical urbanism techniques in contexts of very diverse scales and geographical locations: from the bustling city of Medellin to the port of Beirut, from the cold landscapes of Finland to the historic center of Milan, among many others. Each project was able to imagine urban scenarios in which social interaction was enhanced through lightweight installations, new functions, urban greenery and the repurposing of existing infrastructures.
The competition was open to students, architects, designers, urbanists, engineers, makers, artists and anyone interested in the fields of architecture and urban design.
The winners were selected by an international jury panel composed by:
- Stefano Recalcati | ARUP (Milan, Italy)
- Marta Nosowicz | Humankind (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
- Michel Lauzon | LAAB Collective (Montreal, Canada)
- Lucía V. Bocchimuzzi | MIC-HUB (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Vidhya Mohankumar | Urban Design Collective (Chennai, India)
- Mattia Ciurnelli | SuperForma (Milan, Italy)
- Camilla De Camilli | USI-AAM (Mendrisio, Switzerland)
- Han Kuo | Supra-Simplicities (Taipei, Taiwan)
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WINNERS
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1ST PLACE
“Activating Public Space Around Cable Car Towers in Medellin”
Yuqing Zhang, Yuhui Yang
China
Urban Anchors
Activating Public Space Around Cable Car Towers in Medellin
In the hillsides of Medellin, the support towers of cable cars stand as silent sentinels, overlooking communities and shaping the urban fabric in profound yet understated ways. As these towers touch the ground, the area around them opens up. People spontaneously gather around the towers to rest, meet, and chat, in some cases similar to an activated plaza, where the tower holds the community together.
The project “Urban Anchors” seeks to explore the impact of their presence on the surrounding public space, especially given the density in the informal settlements. This initiative aims to use easily fabricated and assembled modular urban furniture, mainly made from wood and steel, to activate space around cable car towers, be it a farmers’ market, an urban farming street, or a kids’ play plaza. Additionally, the different heights of the towers can be given different functions, providing air passengers with another view of tactical urbanism.
We strongly believe that this project has the capacity to be replicated in other parts of South America, both in the planning phase of future cable cars and in the utilization phase of existing ones, such as La Paz, Bolivia, which has the most significant number of cable car lines in the world.
In conclusion, this project transforms cable car towers into dynamic focal points of the neighborhood and fosters vibrant public spaces that not only enhance the local community’s quality of life but also serve as models for sustainable urban development across South America.
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About the First Prize – Vidhya Mohankumar – Urban Design Collective
“The proposal is a creative demonstration of how tactical urbanism can be leveraged to improve the performance of transit infrastructure. Identifying the support towers of cable cars as nodes that the community is naturally drawn to, the proposal engages both the horizontal ground plane at the foot of these towers as well as the verticality of the towers to resourcefully ‘produce’ new public spaces for the community in dense land-strapped settlements. Programming these spaces with varied functions creates urban markers that also enhance the overall legibility of the settlement. The proposal’s very real potential for replicability is also a winning aspect.”
About the First Prize – Lucía V. Bocchimuzzi – MIC-HUB
“It creatively reimagines neglected spaces of the city proposing a new purpose. By introducing flexible interventions that can mute along time, the project not only enhances the surroundings but fosters socialization, potentially turning “no-places” into inclusive gathering spots.”
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2ND PLACE
“Urban Camouflage’”
Aykan Aras, Kutay Kaynak, Can Kayaaslan
Turkey
Urban Camouflage reimagines the Port of Beirut as not just a logistical and industrial hub, but as a versatile Freezone capable of meeting any economic or social demand from the city. Resilience in urban systems requires constant harmony with the context and the ability to adapt to changes within that context. The concept of camouflage emerged from research, highlighting Beirut’s familiarity with crises. Notably the Civil War from 1975 to 1990, which left lasting cultural and physical borders, such as “The Green line,” named for the vegetation that camouflaged the region during the conflict.
Camouflage, in this context, refers to synergy with the background rather than hiding. The port must continuously adapt to the ever-changing backdrop of Beirut, reflecting the regeneration of vegetation and landscape over time. This adaptability mirrors the city’s intrinsic resilience, where diverse cultures, religions, and nationalities blend seamlessly—a metaphorical camouflage. This project aims to formalize and enhance Beirut’s innate resilience by establishing a system that consistently and efficiently adapts to evolving needs, promoting flexibility and multi-functionality.
The project categorizes constants and variables. Constants include the Passenger Terminal, Silo Memorial, Shipyard, Container Terminal, Long-term Housing Project, and Tensile Structures, ensuring a future-proof environment capable of responding to needs. Variables, with varying time-frames, encompass daily (Modulor Shoreline Platforms, Shadings), weekly (Light Structures, Containers), monthly (Open Spaces, Temporary Housing Units, Power Stations), and long-term (Markets, Warehouses) elements, providing flexible solutions to handle urban scale problems.
The Passenger Terminal and modular shoreline work together. The Silo Memorial symbolizes the city’s resilience, surrounded by open spaces /gathering zones. The Shipyard, located on the third dock, facilitates ship repairs, contributing to the city’s economic sustainability. Tensile Structures serve diverse purposes, from sports to concerts, enhancing adaptability and inclusiveness. The Long-term Housing Project addresses homelessness both now and in the future emergent situations.
Variable elements combine to form clusters catering to various functions, including Market Areas, Exhibitions, Gathering Zones, and Workshops, promoting an inclusive and collaborative environment. Beirut’s residents can freely assemble these elements to create clusters, even innovating new ones, fostering adaptability and innovation. An easily printable catalog shows all these possible clusters and exemplifies the functions of them.
The catalog features a comic illustrating solutions for festivals or emergencies at the Port, demonstrating the system’s versatility. It is even possible to make overnight transformations, like a shoreline becoming an open-air cinema, facilitated by storing smaller elements in nearby warehouses for swift deployment, showcasing adaptability and resilience.
The 1/4000 site plan is only a possible instant frame from the project. The constants are going to stay as they are, but any variable on the plan might change one day later.
Urban Camouflage develops participatory solutions to city scale problems.
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About the Second Prize – Han Kuo – Supra-Simplicities
“This project significantly reinterprets the conventional understanding of camouflage, employing a discreet yet politically sensitive approach to augment adaptability and flexibility within urban and societal contexts. Such initiatives occasionally necessitate compromise to reconcile mutual and conflicting interests in this city. The team exhibits commendable courage in showcasing the potential within a city marked by a prolonged history of crises.”
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3RD PLACE
“DeFROST”
Rand Hamdallah, Jonie Agas
Palestine – Philippines
The Nordic region’s extensive winter significantly reduces outdoor activities and community engagement for nearly half the year. Located in Lahti, Finland, the DeFROST initiative reimagines urban winters by transforming Pikku-Vesijärvi Park into an engaging space during these cold months.
While thriving as a recreational oasis in the summer, the park remains largely dormant and underutilized from September to May due to prolonged snow cover. The area’s significant immigrant population also adds diversity to the challenge of enhancing community connection and integration.
DeFROST rejuvenates urban life during the long winter months by leveraging thermogenesis, the body’s natural response to physical movement. This process helps maintain internal body temperature, making outdoor environments more bearable during the extended winters.
Activity-filled cubes, interconnected by a walkway, encourage urban interaction. Signage placed every 2 kilometers along the walkway helps visitors monitor their warmth gain, based on the average time needed to increase body temperature by 1°C during a 25-minute walk at a moderate pace.
The cubes are thematic, divided into three categories: social, environmental, and leisure. Social cubes focus on language, music, art, culture, and self-expression; environmental cubes emphasize recycling; and leisure cubes provide spaces for exercise, games, relaxation, and meditation. Each cube features a modular system designed for easy detachment, relocation, and customization according to user requirements.
The design strategy is incremental, starting with a test phase in the park to assess impact and adapt based on community feedback. With a successful pilot, DeFROST aims to scale up, expanding to other Nordic cities.
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About the Third Prize – Marta Nosowicz – Humankind
“This project cleverly touches on an out-of-a-box idea turning a park into a vibrant place during winter by helping people stay warm by staying active. Starting with a pilot phase to gather community feedback shows a smart approach to ensuring the project meets the needs of Lahti’s diverse population and could be a great model for other Nordic cities to follow. It uniquely turns a park into a more urban space and creates opportunities to bring communities together by making cold more enjoyable.”
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GOLDEN MENTIONS
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Virgilio Diaz
Mexico
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Zihang Yang
China
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Ilse Karina Lopez Govea, Ivonne Reséndiz Zambrano, Pedro Antonio Tortello Gonzalez
Mexico – Venezuela
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Amirhossein Rezaei Cherati, Seyedehkosar Asghari
Iran – Germany
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Zishen Liu, Bofan Zhou, Yanlin Liu
China
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Nabila Ferdousi, Qinxue Wang, Zarina Partapurwala
Bangladesh – China – India
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Abdessamad Hamedi, Mattia Michael Braggion
Italy
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Senmiao Guo, Yuntian Shi
China
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